Category Archives: Real Japan

Life and culture of current Japan

Hakone is wonderful

Posted on 2010/08/01 by Masa

Hakone is one of the most famous summer resorts near Tokyo. I’ts approximately two hours from Shinjuku (traveling time depends on the destination and transportation). Unfortunately famous summer festival with fireworks was over. But don’t be sorry. Lake Ashi and … Continue reading →

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FM Stations

Posted on 2010/05/15 by Masa

Compared to US FM radios, FM radio stations in Japan are not specific music stations, but mixture of talk, news, and music. At least one station is located in each prefecture, and some local-specific small FM stations are allowed to … Continue reading →

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Suica is too convenient

Posted on 2010/05/12 by Masa

Simply speaking, Suica is a kind of smart cards to use as a gadget of electronic money. Main usage of it is to pass the automated entranceway  for trains and/or subways and most of the big cities and suburb of … Continue reading →

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100 Yen SHOP

Posted on 2010/04/08 by Masa

Convenience stores are very popular and widely used all over Japan. But the prices of the goods are not at the discount levels. So one company called DAISO made 100 YEN shops (百円ショップ) which prices were basically 100 Yen (100 … Continue reading →

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Kashima Jinja

Posted on 2010/04/06 by Masa

Kashima is located at the south of Kasumigaura, Ibaragi prefecture. There is a very old shrine called Kashima Jingū （鹿嶋神宮）. The mon is covered with very beautiful vermilion color and this is the symbol of the shrine. You can go … Continue reading →

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Slopes in Tokyo

Posted on 2010/04/03 by Masa

Within the circle of Yamanote line in Tokyo, there are very many slopes. Slope in Japanese is Saka (坂) or Sakamichi (坂道). Followings are pictures around Akasaka area. Left is unknown (noname) slope. But it looks like to have some … Continue reading →

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Silver Week – holidays in September +

Posted on 2009/09/22 by Masa

Golden Week (GW) is very famous holiday season – continuous holiday from end of April to early May. There is another Japanese English – Silver Week (SW). It was started in 2009 and separated two portions – September and November. … Continue reading →

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Humidity in Japan

Posted on 2009/08/22 by Masa

I was down for a couple of days and I couldn’t update this blog for a while. Sorry for your inconvenience. Now I’m back. The biggest difference between silicon valley and Japan is humidity. In japan, humidity in summer season … Continue reading →

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high-tech bathroom

Posted on 2009/07/20 by Masa

This is the old style of lavatory bowl. In most public facilities, this kind is popular in Japan. Another more popular type is western style which can also be seen outside of Japan.

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In a temple

Posted on 2009/06/20 by Masa

My home is located near the train station and  now the town is rapidly growing as a typical suburb of Tokyo and Yokohama. In such an area,  there are some temples regardless of their size. I will show you an … Continue reading →

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